I went down to the picket line outside Domino Sugar last night. It's easy to find your way there, the Domino's sign is visible from all over the harbor. We first came upon three strikers on the corner by the gas station, and then on their advice headed on down to the gate.

Domino works 24 hours/day in three shifts... though with recent cuts in staff, and the new management pushing speed ups... alot of the workers have been putting in 10 to 16 hour days. Anyway, the workers are maintaining pickets 24 hours a day. For now, they are letting the occassional truck move through.

The strike is strong, over 300 workers are out of the plant. The only ones inside are foreman who are busy trying to move the already processed sugar to the trucks that come by. Without the workers, they really don't have the staff to continue processing sugar... so once the built up reserve is shipped out... the pressure will develop on the bosses.

The bosses are a couple of Cuban brothers who fled Cuba after Batista fell from power. They got involved with the sugar business in the U.S. and have facilities in Miami and throughout the south, with sugar coming from the Dominican Republic. They bought Domino's, and managed to turn a profit their first year. However, they want to squeeze more out of the workers at the plant, some who have been there 33 years.

So far, the spirits of the workers are high. They didn't want to be out in the cold, but felt they couldn't give in to the company's demands of cuts to the pensions, increases to the cost of family health care, etc... They'd hung a banner demading safer working conditions--last year a woman worker died when she fell into one of the vats.

So far, they have plenty of food, and some donations to the strike fund are coming in.

If you've got the time, drop by the picket and give your support. 1100 Key Hwy., from 95, take Exit 55 (Key Highway); follow Key Highway half a mile, turn left onto Lawrence Street, left again onto Fort Drive; follow that to the end.

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